


Menswear

by hanleiasolo



Series: this must be my dream [10]
Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family Dinner, anyway, awkward family dinners p 2, did y'all read loving someone? this is like part 2 lmao, hades just wants seph to meet his family but these bitches can never have nice things, this is packed with fun, whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-20 01:33:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11325897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanleiasolo/pseuds/hanleiasolo
Summary: No matter how nice the sundress, how nice my hair was waved or my makeup was done, it didn't feel right. I wondered if Hades secretly felt out of place too, and that's why he was paying his own way through college, and why he had a dingy apartment in the city. I took the thought back immediately. He probably loved this part of his life, not having to worry if everything just fell from under him one day.





	Menswear

**Author's Note:**

> two chapters? in one month? sounds fake honestly. but i've been on a kick for this series so lots more coming! anyways this.....is basically loving someone part 2: hades edition. i really wanted to like. try to decipher hades's family so this is me attempting to do that? this might be my shittiest chapter yet but i would love feedback and hope u enjoy. also fun fact this is a long chapter so!!! follow my tumblr for this must be my dream inspo and other random shitposting @falloutswift. enjoy i love u guys!!!

I didn't want to be uncomfortable here. Really, this house should be familiar to me. But it didn't seem so large and extravagant at age 6 when Zeus invited me to his pool parties. It was just the big house at the end of the road. The house that was always in view whenever we rode our bikes around the cul-de-sac.

Now that I was older, the house was not as warm and welcoming as I thought it ever was. There was no love in it, not even in the dirtiest, untouched nooks of the walls. I wondered how Hades grew into the loving man he is without there being any warmth in his home.0 

Gaia and Cronus looked like they could be good people. Gaia always kept up the facade of the proper housewife, but she could have had a much different life, and that made her as frigid as she came off to be. Cronus made her that way with his anger. I think Cronus could be a good man, if he really tried his hardest. Though my mother may have been difficult, I was blessed with her love and patience.

And Hades was nothing like his father. I was blessed that he had his mother's underlying soft heart. His brothers were not so lucky. 

Poseidon, one day, could maybe redeem himself. He was a senior this year, like myself, and finally had a serious girlfriend. He cut his partying in half, didn’t give a shit about Zeus’s attitude. But Zeus was too far gone. He was only a junior, and he was continuously cheating on Hera, a relationship that was sealed by the time they were probably in kindergarten. I couldn’t fathom the reasons Hera stayed with him, but she did. I was lucky that I didn’t have to worry about that with Hades. 

With everything that his family had to offer, like their wealth, power and disfunction, I felt very out of place tonight. Hades kept his hand places on my lower back as he gave me a tour of his home. Meanwhile, Hera and Zeus were making out in a deserted corner of the house. Poseidon and Amphitrite kicked their feet around in the pool. All of Gaia's sons were in relationships, and she wanted to meet the three of us. Hades said she called it a welcome-to-the-family dinner, but I think she was getting too ahead of herself. She already met Hera anyway. 

When I told my mother what my plans for the evening were, I thought she was going to choke on her drink. She never liked that family, she’s said it since I was little. She was surprised that I even said yes to dinner, but how could I say no to my potential mother in law? My boyfriend?

So here I stood in the nicest sundress I owned, while Hades showed me childhood photos that hung on the walls. He was cute as a baby. They all were. 

No matter how nice the sundress, how nice my hair was waved or my makeup was done, it didn't feel right. I wondered if Hades secretly felt out of place too, and that's why he was paying his own way through college, and why he had a dingy apartment in the city. I took the thought back immediately. He probably loved this part of his life, not having to worry if everything just fell from under him one day. 

"Seph?" he asked softly, taking me out of my thoughts. 

I looked up at him, blinked a few times. "Sorry," I finally said. 

"Is it too much?" 

‘No,” I automatically responded, then bit my lip. I shrugged and faced the pictures hung on the wall. “It’s beautiful. Really, it is. It’s just…”

“It’s a lot, I know,” he said. 

“For you too?” 

“My mother really loves decorating,” he said, then he cracked a smile. I loved that smile. That meant he felt comfortable. That meant I should be comfortable too.

“It’s a beautiful home.”

“You know, Seph,” he started, his voice growing low and serious. “I’m not going to let you drown up there. There’s no three-headed dog I’m about to feed you to. But you have nothing to worry about. My mom, she loves you. She always has. She was thrilled when I told her we were dating.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah,” he laughed. “My dad, he’s a hardass. Anything he says, I wouldn’t listen to, but if he gets out of line, I’ll defend you.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at him. I knew he meant well, but he was being too tough about it. It made me absently wonder how badly I built my own mother to him. “My hero,” I sighed. 

From the other room, I heard dinner being called, and I couldn’t help but become nervous again. Though Hades assured me he essentially had my back, I couldn’t bring myself to believe it. His family was such a different dynamic than my mother. Demeter just cared for my well being, but Cronus wanted to push Hades to his limit, maybe try to do more harm than good. 

I was more worried for him than me. 

Hades was ever the gentleman, walking me to my chair and pulling it out, pushing me in. We were seated closer to his mom’s end of the table. It was his mother, Hades, me, Amphitrite, Poseidon, then Cronus, and opposite of us was Zeus and Hera. I could feel Hera eyeing me, the newbie of the dinner table. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. 

Dinner conversation was kept light, probably lighter than normal. I was usually quiet, and Hera kept giving me a stink eye. 

“You and Poseidon are both graduating this year?” Gaia asked. She over too me, her eyes gleaming with interest. 

“Yeah,”  I said, smiling and nodding. 

“Do you plan on going to college?” 

“Definitely, yeah. I’m not sure where yet. I’ll probably study botany or something like it. I work at my mom’s flower shop, and I enjoy it a lot.”

“Ah, very exciting!” she feigned interest. I had to give her props. 

From the other end of the table, Cronus grunted. “Demeter, right? How is she?” he asked. 

“She’s fine,” I quickly answered. I truly did not want my mother mentioned at this dinner.

“She still as crazy as ever?” he asked, smirked through the bite of meatball he took. 

“Cronus,” Gaia scolded. 

He sighed loudly. “Gaia, honestly, am I wrong? She refused to even let Persephone out of the house when she was young, called her that ridiculous name. What was it?” 

Before anyone could answer, I spoke. “She’s just  _ fine _ . Really.” 

The table grew quiet again, besides the soft clinking of forks against glass dishes. As dinner went on, the focus moved off of me and onto the others. The other girls, they were so much cooler than me. I didn’t want to act so high school about it, especially that Hades was older and in college, but they were just so much better than I was. Richer, prettier, going on vacations with their Lilly Pulitzer dresses in their fancy cars. My mother and I never even thought about an extravagant vacation in our lives. 

Poseidon talked about the swim team, how he could qualify for States if he got a certain time during his trials. Amphitrite beamed for him. Zeus talked about the football team, the big game that was coming up. Hera may have been a cheerleader for the team, but she was not one for him. She barely paid attention to him when he spoke. The only one truly proud was Cronus. 

“And what about you, Hades?” Cronus asked. 

This time, it was Hades who tensed up. I’ve never seen him so rigid in my life. “I’m just enjoying college,” he shrugged. 

“Are you still an English major?”

“Yes sir.”

“I wish you would change that. Do something worthwhile,” Cronus sighed. 

“It’s very worthwhile, actually.”

Cronus took another slow bite of his food before speaking again. “It’s a bit feminine, perhaps?” 

“What is?”

“Majoring in English. Working in a library.” He glanced over at me. “Is this a real relationship, Hades? You and Persephone?”  
“ _Please_ leave her out of this,” Hades stressed.

“Hades, I’m asking a question.”

“Of course it’s a real relationship, or else I wouldn’t have brought her into this hell of a house!” His volume gradually grew until he shouted. He abruptly stood up and walked out of the room. I sat there for a few seconds, my mouth gaped open, before I had the competence to follow him. 

“Um, excuse me,” I squeaked, cringing when the chair scraped against the floor. I followed Hades path out of the dining room, to where I heard the front door slam. He needed some space, some air. 

I slowly opened the front door and shut it gently behind me. I brushed my skirt under me as I joined Hades, who was sitting on the stairs. 

“Are you okay?” I asked. From experience, I knew it was a stupid question to ask. He wasn’t. I knew he wasn’t. 

“I get how you felt when I came to dinner now,” Hades answered after a few minutes passed by. “It was stupid, to bring you here when he was home. I should have waited until he was away on business.”

“I’m glad everyone was there. Really. It’s important to meet everyone,” I said encouragingly. 

More endless minutes passed. “It was my mom who really wanted to meet you. She’s going to be…well, pissed that my dad acted like that.”

“Does he always do that?” 

“Just to me. My brothers could do no wrong in his eyes.” 

“Oh.” That’s all I could say. I never had a father, just a man who made me. But I knew this wasn’t what a father was supposed to be like. 

“He has no filter. It’s really inconvenient,” Hades said.

“I noticed.”

“I’m sorry about that, also. Demeter is -”

“She can be crazy, I can agree.”

“You shouldn’t have to agree.”

I didn’t know what to take from the sentence. Whether he was implying that my mother wasn’t crazy, or that I was the only one allowed to make the assumption was a mystery to me. 

“Do you still want me to take you home?” he asked. 

“Only if you’re ready. I’m okay with whatever.” 

First he stood up, then took my waiting hands and pulled me up. Before we opened the door to go back in, I hesitated. “I do like your mom, Hades. She’s a lovely woman. I hope I impressed her, gained her acceptance or whatever.”

Hades turned to face me, and genuinely smiled. “She loves you,” he said truthfully. “Almost as much as I do.” 

He squeezed my hands, then entered his home. 

I loved him too, just more than he could ever know. 


End file.
